Opening Ceremony of Jio MAMI 18th Film Festival with Star to Mark the Re-launch of The Iconic Royal Opera House

The Historical heritage building opens with the film festival’s opening night

Mumbai, September 9th, 2016: In a double first, Jio MAMI Film Festival with Star will hold its opening ceremony on 20thOctober at the newly restored Royal Opera House in downtown Mumbai. The day also celebrates the re-opening of this iconic venue - India's only surviving Opera House once the cultural heartbeat of Mumbai. The city is grateful to the Royal Family of Gondal – the owners of the iconic venue who have tirelessly worked towards ensuring the complete revival and restoration of this centre under the watchful eye of conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah.

The Maharaja of Gondal Shri Vikram Sinhji bought the Opera House in 1952. His son Shri Jyotendra Sinhji Jadeja commissioned its restoration in 2009, which is now nearing completion and revving up for its debut.

Gondal Maharaja Jyotendra Sinhji Jadeja said, “It gives me immense pleasure to see The Royal Opera House being revived back to its original glory. The Gondal Family has always been a great patron of art, culture and education. The Royal Opera House in this new avatar is our gift to the City of Mumbai. I thank my wife Smt. Kumud Kumari and my son Himanshisinh and our close family friend Ashish Doshi and needless to mention Abha Lambah who have worked tirelessly to ensure we can bring back this historical monument to its original glory. We are delighted to partner with MAMI festival and wish them all the luck.” The idea for the Opera House was conceived in 1908 by Maurice Bandmann, a famous entertainer from Calcutta, and Jehangir Framji Karaka, who headed a coal brokers’ firm. The heritage building inaugurated in 1911 by King George V, reflects the grandness of Baroque architecture. With its domed ceiling embellished with paintings and whose acoustically perfect construction enabled those seated in the gallery to hear every word uttered by the performers!

One of the last standing Baroque buildings in Mumbai, the Opera House, with its long standing association with art, literature, theatre, music, has hosted operas and live performances of artists such as , Prithviraj , Dinanath Mangeshkar and .

It is an ideal venue for the opening ceremony of the city's premier film festival. In its new avatar, the 574 seater will include state of the art acoustics – with valuable inputs and support from HARMAN International (India) and stage craft, lighting and air conditioning.

Jio MAMI with Star Festival Chairperson, Kiran Rao said, "We are honoured to have our opening ceremony at the Royal Opera House. We could not have asked for a better host- a host with a legacy that goes back over a hundred years. The Opera House is an iconic venue and as we get ready to roll out the red carpet, we hope to help revive its legacy as an important cultural venue for the people of Mumbai.”

With hundreds of films being screened across the city, the film festival is a cultural must do on Mumbai’s social calendar. The opening ceremony at the Royal Opera House kick starts this one of its kind film festival bonanza and symbolizes the spirit of cultural diversity.

Jio MAMI with Star Festival Director, Anupama Chopra said, “We are excited to be associated with this historical re-opening and thankful to the Royal family of Gondal for allowing us to host our opening ceremony there.”

ABOUT Jio MAMI with Star

Mumbai - the financial capital of India is also the epicenter of the Indian film industry. The city plays such a major role in production and dissemination of Indian films and television programs that it is widely known by its acronym ''. In 1997, a group of film industry stalwarts headed by late founded the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) as a not-for-profit Trust. Their main objective was to organize an annual International Film Festival which the film industry and the country could be proud of. MAMI has been organizing the festival for the last 16 years and aims to foster a climate of good cinema. MAMI engages people from all walks of life across the city and country who enjoy and love good cinema. It is Mumbai’s only film festival that is entirely created and run by film professionals and a group of members from corporate India. Appreciation of good cinema, stripped off all the limiting labels of art and commercial, can only come about through exposure to the best of films the world has to offer. The Festival is the first step in that direction. For more information on the Jio MAMI 18thMumbai Film Festival with Star scheduled to be held from 20th October - 27th October 2016, do visit the official website, Twitter handle, Facebook Page, Instagram and YouTube as follows:

Website: http://www.mumbaifilmfestival.com/

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Twitter: @Mumbaifilmfest

Facebook: /MumbaiFilmFestival

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YouTube: Mumbai Film Festival